Ground Up Creative

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

When you book Ground Up Creative and pay your deposit, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions outlined here.
It’s your responsibility to ensure you are able to meet these terms prior to payment being made.

Terms and Conditions
Thanks for taking the time to read the Ground Up Creative Terms and Conditions. Our relationship will involve trust, clear communication and a whole bucket of fun. We can enjoy all three of these wonderful things much better if we both understand our roles, responsibilities and obligations to each other.

PLEASE NOTE: By indicating you want to work with me and paying your deposit, you are also stating that you have taken the time to read and agree to the terms and conditions of our working arrangement. Please make sure you do!

General Agreement Terms and Conditions

1) Briefing Process
1.1 All clients (that’s you) that book Ground Up Creative (that’s me) go through a briefing process. This involves discussing your project needs via Zoom or Google Meet (preferred), on the phone (second preference) or in person (available to Hepburn Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire, Mt Alexander Shire, Melbourne and some other Victorian, depending on your proximity to a train station, clients only*) for half an hour or more. I will ask you the particulars of your project and any clarifying questions I need. I may record our briefing session by recording our Zoom session and taking notes. If I record our conversation I will ask for your explicit consent at the time. This is done to ensure I know from the start what you need.
*subject to Covid-19 restrictions.
1.2 You will give me the information I need to review your project needs effectively. If you are a startup, a fledgling business with no online presence and/or in the middle of a rebrand/revamp of your business, I will need to see supporting documentation of your project. This includes but is not limited to a business plan, strategic plan and/or some background information to give me confidence that your project is genuine. All of these details are dealt with in the strictest confidence. I make a commitment to you to treat your project idea with genuine respect. And I have an expectation that this will be reciprocated by you supplying the information I need to create your quotation.
1.3 I will be given access to your existing online presence. During the process, you will be asked to supply your existing social media channels, the URL to your website and/or any other pertinent documentation so that an informed proposal can be assembled for your project. I keep all this information confidential. It is used to ensure I can get a feel for your needs and make the appropriate suggestions during the quotation stage.
1.4 You understand that my job is to plan and/or market and/or write for your project. You as the project owner are required to have an understanding of what your project entails prior to engagement. My role as your strategic marketer and/or planner and/or content producer and/or website designer is to help you define the purpose for your project and then if applicable help tell the world. Therefore, your idea needs to be in production and moving towards development in order to qualify for marketing services unless it is classed as being in the ‘idea development stage’.

2) Quotations and Proposals
2.1 Quotations are based on the scope of the work given at the time of our initial contact during the briefing stage. When I give you a quote, it is usually in the form of a proposal that outlines your project’s background, what you need help with, what my approach to the project is and a quotation based on the elements within that proposal. It includes a breakdown of what I will do. Your quotation is valid for 30 days from the date noted on the proposal.
2.2 You need to read the quotation proposal. I know that sounds like a given, but in case you just wanted to skip to the money part and leap in the air from joy, I need to make that clear. Your proposal acts as the scope of the work and is a living, breathing document I work from. So the time to say “Can you build me a website as well” or “What does that mean?” is after your proposal review and before you pay the deposit invoice.
2.3 Scope creep and on-the-fly changes cost extra money. As each proposal and its quotation is created after careful consideration of your project’s needs, modifications, changes and/or additions to the original scope will cost you extra. In the instances where additions, modifications and changes apply, you will be notified via email of the cost and work required to support your changes. In order for the changes to take place, you need to respond to the affirmative in writing. So to ensure your project stays to budget, please try to schedule all your flashes of brilliance prior to paying the invoice so they can be included in your proposal. That way we can keep your budget on target while we get giddy about the possibility right from the start.
2.4 I only accept approval of quotes and proposals in writing. You need to email me back to state the project is approved. I do not accept verbal confirmation on phone or in person under any circumstances. Not even if you send singing telegrams.
2.5 I work with you to craft a proposal that suits your project needs. In most instances, this will include a baseline quotation that centres on your specific needs, as well as any additional support that would work for your project. You are welcome to decline specific elements of my proposal. Although if I feel that you are declining bits that will make the other bits impossible to achieve, I’ll be sure to let you know.
2.6 I bill by the minute so I feel like a lawyer and then you know you get what you pay for. I use time tracking software to track all my projects so I only charge people for the work I actually do. This level of accountability also means that I’m pretty accurate about my proposals and their costs.
2.7 My kids have a really hard time digesting equity instead of fruit, so it’s best for all concerned if I decline any offer of founder status, deferred payment and/or promises of future gold yachts in lieu of actual payment for work completed in this little clause right here. When you book Ground Up Creative you pay with money, not vague dreams of the future.
2.8 I understand that sometimes the situation can change unexpectedly (hello 2020!) if an asteroid hits or a global pandemic strikes and it becomes impossible for the original project scope to be completed due to situations beyond both of our control, I will inform you as soon as possible and we can work together to come up with a strategy that works under the new dominant paradigm. If the situation means there is no possibility of completing any further work, I will tidy up and hand over work completed and you will pay me to the point we are at. This clause is in the case of extreme circumstances only.

3) Payment
3.1 I will supply you an invoice together with appropriate payment details for your project. You’ll look at that, be happy and ready to pay.
3.2 For projects over $500, a non-refundable deposit of 25% is payable prior to work commencing. That way, I am not distracted by hunger and the potential of foreclosure and can focus on your project.
3.3 For projects of $500 or less, the entire sum needs to be paid prior to work commencing. My accountant has been pretty strict on this. She does my boring work so I follow her every command.
3.4 Once you make the payment, I require proof of payment and/or clearance in my bank account prior to providing you with a scheduled work date. This is so work can be scheduled accordingly. Once work is complete, the balance of your invoice is due within 14 days of issue.
3.5 I expect you to be a responsible business person with your financials in order. By accepting a quote and engaging my services, you accept responsibility for any invoice that remains unpaid for more than 8 days. This responsibility includes paying 10% interest on your overdue account from the 8th day through to the 20th day. For accounts more than 21 days in arrears, a 20% invoice late fee will be charged and debt collectors will be engaged. You will be responsible for paying for the debt collectors, too. Bottom line – pay on time and we’ll have a great relationship. Make my accountant have to chase you, and we both get pretty sad and stressed pretty damn quickly.
3.6 Any costs associated to the project (e.g. couriers, other media, travel, purchases you request I make to help support your work, online fees, software etc) are to be paid directly by you. I will send through the costs and invoices to you to make payment. That way, you can keep track of what you spend on outside costs and have the appropriate records for your tax. I don’t buy things on client’s behalf because it becomes a right royal arse-ache come EOFY.
3.7 If at any time you wish to terminate your project with me, I will bill you for work undertaken at that time. Please remember your deposit is non-refundable and that your seat needs to be returned to the upright position. I will send what I have to any new supplier you choose. I’ve never faced this situation before but I do recognise that sometimes what looked like a beautiful business partnership may have been only worthy of a brief flirtation. So as long as you don’t leave me to pick up the tab or go psycho on my arse, I promise we will part as friends.

4) Work processes
4.1 Meetings are often big sink holes of time that neither of us really need to work on your project effectively. In order to keep things as lean and efficient as possible, I keep face-to-face meetings to a minimum. To help wean any previous meeting addicts off this often costly, undocumented and fruitless process, I charge travel time and booking fees. You will always stay informed, but you’ll discover the joy of efficiency without meeting reliance is quite delightful.
4.2 Timelines are transparent. I make a commitment to schedule your project in and let you know when the work will begin, when you should expect drafts, and based on draft feedback, when your finished project will be completed. You in turn need to make a commitment to provide me the info I need to start your project, turn around your feedback and give approval in a timely manner.
4.3 Life is messy and things happen. So if either of us finds that the timeline is unachievable due to equipment and power failure, personal injury, death in the family, political unrest, alien invasion and/or a repeat of 2020, we both need to be responsible enough to let the other know.
4.4 I work with you to have a timeline that suits. I know you are probably working on 17 other things while I toil away at your project. So if you are busy and your turnaround on feedback or edits need an extra dash of space, by all means let me know.
4.5 I will be transparent with my progress and updates. I use a number of digital tools to manage and track projects and I will give you access to files and project management systems that pertain to your project. I expect you to follow the processes I lay out for you and I aim to make them as simple and easy as possible. I am happy to train you how to use new systems if they are unfamiliar to you.
4.6 I prefer email and digital communication tools within agreed times. We can schedule regular check in meetings on zoom or the phone about your project as part of your delivery. I prefer communications via phone or zoom to be planned as I have a number of clients to manage my time around. If you need to contact me urgently outside of an agreed meeting time, I prefer text or email and I will get in touch as soon as I can. I prefer to not use social media messaging systems for my clients as these messages are harder to track. So even if we are Facebook friends, please don’t use messenger for work stuff.

5) Expectations
5.1 You can expect a professional, hard working, honest and authentic work experience with me. While I can’t make any guarantees about the success of your project, I do guarantee I will be professional, considerate of your time and budget, and that I will deliver a high quality project that is going to lead to future success for your organisation.
5.2 My motto is helping rad people be more rad. This means I have agreed to work with you because I believe your organisation is going to make the world a better place to live in. My passion is helping you do your work more strategically and efficiently. I will bring fresh, tailored and customised ideas to your project while being ethical, transparent and honest in my advice and approach.
5.3 My aim is to empower your business. So you can expect a coach-like attitude to your project. I want you to have a hassle free and positive experience with me. I also want to future-proof your experience by sharing what I know with you so you can keep making improvements after I leave. I will leave you with full instructions so you can keep using the tools and systems I put in place for you. I stand by my documentation so if any of it doesn’t make sense to you I will fix it up.
5.4 Gaining consensus from the stakeholders in your business is your responsibility. I have one point of contact for your project alone. This is you or a person you nominate within your business/organisation. If revisions, feedback and reviews need to pass by boards, co-founders, business partners, employees, or your second cousin, that’s up to you (or your nominated contact) to collect and compile into your feedback. You are welcome to get feedback from a number of people of course, but I will be up front with the number of rounds of feedback for each project. Treat them like genie wishes. You need to have a unified and singular response during our feedback cycles to minimise the margin for error and workload.
5.5 You accept that you are not my sole client. To help our relationship remain rewarding and pleasant, you will understand that I will assign time to work on your project in line with the needs of my other clients – as well as my family, my garden and my need to spend time in forests.

6) Copyright and Intellectual Property
6.1 Until you pay your invoices for work completed, the copyright and IP remains with me. This is to protect me from you skipping the final invoice and using my work without paid permission. Once you pay the bill, the work I have given is yours.
6.2 I promise not to work with anyone who is your direct competitor while I look after you. We both know that with each client, I acquire experience and knowledge in your industry that may prove useful with other work down the track. However, this will be knowledge of the industry, not specifically of your business, that will be informing future projects. My knowledge and experience is probably what made you decide to engage my services, so know that what I learn during this project will contribute to a community of knowledge about making business and community organisation more ethical and sustainable.
6.3 Cross promotion is the bomb. This is why I will openly share your business and/or product with my audience via sharing your marketing campaigns, writing case studies for my website and helping you reach eyeballs by leveraging my following. However, if you need a quieter approach (such as in a ghost-writing situation) or your big guns prefer NDA’s to be in place, just say the word and I won’t share a thing.
6.4 You are responsible for securing your trademarks, IP and making sure you aren’t copying someone else’s idea accidentally or intentionally. Stealing other people’s ideas, products and IP is not cool. I cannot be held responsible for this. Your business registration and not infringing on someone else’s lawful property is your responsibility.
6.5 If someone does try to sue you due to breaches of IP or associated problems, you agree to indemnify me from all legal fees, claims, costs and expenses. And to buy me a bottle of very nice wine for putting me through such a scary ordeal. I in turn promise not to do anything intentionally that could be considered campaign theft or repurposing.
6.6 Once you receive your assets from me, you can edit it, change it and even slice it into small tiny pieces if you wish. However, beyond making me cry because you’ve potentially changed the appearance of one of my babies, you also accept that changes to my work will remove my responsibility to them. So (for example) if you ask me to design a website and then change the colour scheme so that all your customers run away screaming, that’s not my fault. I create to a brief based on knowledge acquired at the time. If you make changes after hand over, you need to take responsibility for any negative outcomes.

7) Entire Agreement
These terms and conditions form the basis of our working relationship moving forward. These terms and conditions supersede any assumptions and/or verbal conversations. Additional terms and conditions and/or agreed modifications will be supplied to you as part of your proposal. Any waiver of breach of specific conditions cannot be construed as a waiver and/or breach of the entire agreement or non-related clauses. These terms and conditions are governed by Australian law and you agree and submit to exclusive jurisdiction in the Australian courts. Any disputes will be held within the Victoria courts. You agree through payment of monies (deposit or otherwise) and verbal agreement of a working relationship that we will abide this agreement at all times.

You made it to the end. Go get yourself a hearty piece of cake and a nice coffee as reward for being a responsible, engaged and exciting client to work with!